Durham invests in Fayetteville Street businesses taking ‘a tremendous hit’ with high costs

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — As small businesses in Durham fight to navigate rising costs, the city is relaunching a program dedicated to supporting struggling owners.

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City officials are offering services from personalized coaching to grants worth thousands of dollars. 

Supply costs are doubling for one historic restaurant in Durham that’s been serving up Southern comfort bites for more than six decades. The Chicken Hut owner Tre Tapp told CBS 17 he’s trying to get adjusted to today’s prices.

“With the high rising food costs and gas costs, it’s a tremendous hit,” Tapp said. “We’re used to paying a certain amount. I went from paying $38 dollars for a roll of hamburger beef to now almost $60. So a lot of things have almost doubled.”

That’s part of the reason the city is relaunching the Fayetteville Street Corridor Bounce Back Program. The effort provides small businesses with technical assistance, training, coaching and networking events.

Some owners can also receive a grant of up to $10,000 for operational and facility enhancements.

“Many of our historic businesses along one of Durham’s most history and culturally rich corridors are struggling, not because they’re not great business owners, but because of lack of access to resources and capital,” City of Durham Director of Economic and Workforce Development Joshua Gunn said. “And so, this program is designed to solve both sides of that challenge.”

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According to the city, it’s a 12-month initiative dedicated to preserving legacy businesses and promoting neighborhood revitalization.

“I understand that $10,000 is not a transformational investment for a small business,” Gunn said. “It’s a little bit to help improve the operations of the business and a public investment in helping support our small businesses. But I want to emphasize this is not the only investment that the City of Durham is making in the Fayetteville Street corridor.”

City officials say there’s about $284,000 allocated for this program, and some business owners say anything is appreciated.

“Every little bit helps and also it helps to make improvements to your building which keeps the appeal to even the newer and older customers that are coming to your restaurant,” Tapp said.

The City of Durham said the applications are currently open for interested businesses, and they’ll be taken until funding is exhausted.

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